The caravan moved forward at a steady, unhurried pace.
While remaining vigilant, Mizuki contemplated his strategy.
What should he do if he encountered Jiraiya? What about Itachi? Could he win? Should he fight or flee?
In the afternoon, the sky began to drizzle. Everything was shrouded in white mist, and visibility was poor.
Mizuki wore a hooded cloak to keep the rain out. But the damp, sticky air and muddy road made him uncomfortable. He didn't like traveling on rainy days.
The caravan traveled along the forest road. Aside from the sound of wheels, everyone was quiet.
Suddenly, they stopped.
"Mizuki-san, there's a situation ahead!"
Without anyone saying so, Mizuki had already seen it.
A single person blocked the road ahead. He wore a black cloak with red clouds, had orange spiky hair, and bore an Amegakure missing-nin headband.
Most notable were his eyes — circular patterns, completely unique.
The Rinnegan!
Mizuki never would have imagined that it wasn't Jiraiya or Itachi who had come, but the Deva Path Pain.
'The Deva Path couldn't possibly come alone. The Six Paths of Pain always move together. Moreover, to control Pain, Nagato must be nearby as well.'
Mizuki was truly impressed. He wasn't some major figure in the ninja world — did the Akatsuki really need to go this far?
Pain stood in the middle of the road, looking at him.
"Konoha shinobi Mizuki, let me introduce myself! I am Pain, leader of the Akatsuki, and I am God!"
The corner of Mizuki's mouth twitched.
What a presence! Much better than Orochimaru meeting people and immediately asking if they knew about immortality.
"I know you're quite strong and have been targeted by Konoha's higher-ups, so today I've come specifically to invite you to join the Akatsuki. Together we will create a peaceful, perfect ninja world without oppression or scheming. The unfair treatment you received in Konoha will not happen in the world we create."
The corner of Mizuki's mouth twitched again.
What a beautiful picture he was painting. Unfortunately, he didn't know he was just a chess piece in someone else's hands. His ideal world could never be realized.
"I'm sorry, I refuse!"
Pain nodded, his tone flat, "Then I will defeat you and make you join the Akatsuki willingly."
Mizuki raised a hand, "Wait a moment!"
Pain looked at him without speaking.
"I'm willing to fight, but we need to move over there. These ordinary people shouldn't get caught in our battle." Mizuki pointed toward the forest depths.
Pain shook his head, "No. They've seen my Rinnegan. To prevent information leaks, they all must die."
Anger flared in Mizuki's chest.
"In that case, I'll deal with you first!"
He teleported behind Pain, Rasengan already thrusting forward. But Pain wasn't so easy to deal with.
Shinra Tensei ▻ Almighty Push
A powerful repulsive force erupted from Pain, pushing violently in all directions.
"Holy crap!"
Mizuki cried out as his body flew backward, the Rasengan in his hand dissipating.
The caravan was thrown into chaos, people and horses tumbling. Fortunately, they weren't too close, or there would have been casualties.
Even as Mizuki retreated, his mind remained calm.
"Shinra Tensei has a five-second cooldown. One more time."
He activated his teleportation technique again, appearing behind Pain with another Rasengan.
Smack!
Pain spun around instantly and grabbed his wrist.
Mizuki's eyes widened. That reaction speed was impossibly fast — as if he could predict the future.
Pain gripped his wrist with one hand while a black rod emerged from his other palm, stabbing toward Mizuki's shoulder.
The black rod was created by the Rinnegan through Yin-Yang Release. A single pierce would seal chakra points and disrupt chakra flow. Even tailed beasts could be restrained by these rods.
Mizuki's expression shifted as he activated his chakra.
Kanzen Henge no Jutsu ▻ Perfect Transformation Technique
With a "poof", Pain transformed into a small sheep, his hands becoming hooves.
Mizuki's wrist came free, and he immediately broke away.
After just 0.1 seconds, Pain returned to his original form. But by then, Mizuki had already leaped several meters away.
Pain studied him, "A jutsu that can transform others and render me unable to resist in that moment. You're not only a powerful fighter, but a genius in ninjutsu."
Mizuki met his gaze, expression grave.
His teleportation technique had failed again. First Itachi, now the Deva Path Pain. His strength was still lacking.
Though he knew many jutsu and his methods were mysterious, he had no real advantage against these powerful opponents.
It reminded him of Obito's fight with the Fourth Hokage. On the surface, Obito seemed to have every advantage — Kamui could attack and defend, seemingly invincible — but Minato still taught him a lesson.
'My battle awareness is still lacking. The Transformation Jutsu only lasted 0.1 seconds, but I only thought about retreating.'
For an expert, 0.1 seconds was enough time to attack once.
'If I had attacked in that moment, I might have finished Pain off.'
The mutated Transformation Jutsu could forcibly transform others. After transformation, the enemy's form changed and they couldn't attack. Used well, it could completely overwhelm opponents.
The drawback was that stronger targets transformed for shorter durations.
Previously, it forced Naruto to transform for 5 seconds. Just now, it only made Pain transform for 0.1 seconds.
Moreover, stronger targets consumed more chakra. In an instant, Mizuki's chakra had decreased by a full 5 Ka Units.
He hadn't seized the opportunity to counterattack. If he had swung a kunai during that 0.1-second window, he would surely have achieved good results.
His battle awareness was still too lacking.
"Your technique is impressive, but the duration is too short. Moreover, your reflexes, battle awareness, and combat experience are all only ordinary. Even though you've mastered many mysterious ninjutsu, you still can't do anything to me."
Pain raised his right hand.
Banshō Ten'in ▻ Universal Pull
Mizuki's body immediately lost control, flying toward Pain.
A black rod had already emerged from Pain's left palm, aimed at his shoulder.
Mizuki didn't panic. He used his teleportation technique again, arriving behind Pain, who reacted instantly, turning around.
"While I still have enough chakra, one more time!"
Mizuki's left hand struck toward Pain's body, Rasengan condensing in his hand. At the same time, he used the mutated Clone Jutsu. The instant the Rasengan formed, Pain transformed into a small sheep.
Dual-Tasking came into play for the first time.
The next moment, the Rasengan struck the small sheep's head.
In a flash, 0.1 seconds passed. Pain returned to human form, but his body was already flying backward, head severely damaged. He hit the ground and rolled more than ten meters before stopping completely.
"Phew!" Mizuki breathed heavily.
Success!
One Transformation Jutsu consumed 5 Ka of chakra. He'd used it twice, plus several Body Swaps and Rasengans. His chakra was nearly depleted — less than 2 Ka remained.
Looking at Pain's corpse in the distance, Mizuki smiled bitterly. Just dealing with one Deva Path had exhausted most of his chakra. It was truly too difficult.
In the forest, the sound of rushing air rang out as someone rapidly approached. Through the trees, he could see the signature black cloaks with red clouds.
Mizuki turned to the caravan and sighed.
"You're on your own!"
He could barely protect himself. The people in the caravan — he was powerless to help them.
The caravan leader saw the helplessness on his face.
"Mizuki-san, is there really no way?"
Mizuki shook his head, "You've been implicated because of me, but if you're going to blame anyone, blame the Third Hokage."
The caravan leader didn't understand, but he was completely in despair.
The next moment, five figures descended.
The other five Paths of Pain. They didn't attack Mizuki immediately, but instead guarded the Deva Path's corpse.
The Naraka Path summoned the King of Hell. It opened its great mouth, extending a long purple tongue with hands on it. It placed the damaged Deva Path into its mouth and began to chew.
Mizuki knew he had to leave. Once the Deva Path was revived, he wouldn't be able to escape.
"Before I go, let me make one last effort." He turned to the caravan leader, "Flee backward immediately. I'll hold them here for a while. As for you all — it's up to luck."
Behind them were Konoha ninja sent by Hiruzen to search for whoever attacked the Hokage's office. They would surely sense the battle and investigate. If the caravan encountered them, they might survive.
After Mizuki finished speaking, everyone fled backward without waiting for a response.
Mizuki stood in place. Instead of moving, he created dozens of clones. They scattered in all directions and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The Pains didn't try to stop them — they were just clones. As long as they captured the real body, that was enough.
They didn't pursue the caravan either. Mizuki was what mattered.
Behind Pain, the King of Hell chewed vigorously, then opened its mouth. The Deva Path walked out completely unharmed.
"The Six Paths of Pain, here!" The six Pains stood together, six pairs of Rinnegan creating immense pressure.
Mizuki said, "The legendary Sage's Eyes, the Rinnegan, are indeed powerful. But I still refuse to join the Akatsuki."
Deva Path Pain replied, "You gave up your escape for those ordinary people — I admire that. But if you persist in refusing, I can only kill you."
Mizuki was speechless.
"Didn't you say the Akatsuki was established to create a peaceful world? If I don't join, you'll kill me — what kind of peace is that?"
Pain said, "If you don't join, you are an obstacle to peace, so you must die."
Mizuki's mouth fell open. The logic was impossible to refute.
"It seems I have no choice but to join. First, tell me about the Akatsuki. Where is your base? How many members are there? What are their strengths? How do you plan to achieve peace…"
The Deva Path said, "I know you're stalling for time, trying to let those people escape. But I said before — they've seen the Rinnegan and know some of its abilities. To prevent information leaks, they must die. Your efforts are in vain. Once you join the Akatsuki, I'll answer everything. So, make your decision!"
Mizuki frowned. He could already hear screams from behind. Those people couldn't escape their tragic fate.
All because of the Third Hokage!
The screams quickly ended. Two sets of footsteps approached.
Mizuki turned to see Itachi and Kisame walking over leisurely. Blood dripped from Samehada on Kisame's back.
"Leader, those people have all been dealt with." Kisame showed a cruel smile.
Itachi looked at Mizuki, eager to act. The three tomoe in his right eye rotated slowly — he seemed ready to activate his Mangekyō Sharingan and unleash Amaterasu.
Mizuki looked at Deva Path Pain, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"My decision is — I refuse!"
Deva Path's expression remained calm, "In that case, you will leave your life here."
Mizuki shook his head, "I won't join the Akatsuki, and I won't die. Even the Rinnegan cannot kill me."
Deva Path: "With your teleportation technique, you can indeed come and go freely. But unless you can instantly move to an extremely distant location, you cannot escape my pursuit."
As he finished speaking, his feet left the ground and he floated upward. He looked down at Mizuki from above, his eyes full of indifference — like a lofty deity gazing upon ants.
"I am God. In God's domain, you cannot escape!"
Mizuki sighed, "You call yourself God, yet you don't know you're merely a chess piece on someone else's board. You speak grandly of peace, yet you disregard life and slaughter at will. The Akatsuki doesn't even compare to Konoha. Forget it!"
He said no more.
"He's trying to run!" Itachi's Sharingan immediately detected the change in Mizuki's body.
His right eye instantly transformed into a Mangekyō, and the flames of Amaterasu appeared, targeting Mizuki. The black flames burned onto him.
But the next moment, with a "poof", Mizuki turned into a cloud of smoke and dissipated completely. The one on the scene wasn't the real body at all — just a clone.
Deva Path frowned, "So that was his purpose in sending out those clones earlier?"
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $2 or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
I'm currently translating another project (for $1.5) where the main character travels through various worlds, like Highschool of the Dead, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Darwin's Game, and many more, building a massive harem. It will have smut chapters (+18) and spicy images of the female characters. Check it out if you're interested! :)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)